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Wikipedia offers knowledge, freedom and community

Re: When Wikipedians run amok on orderly online encyclopedia, Dec. 27.

As a Wikipedia administrator, I feel it is my duty to clarify some points made in your article.

It is true that Wikipedia, as a primary source, is not quite ready for prime time, and may never be. Wikipedia's open nature is conducive to all sorts of vandals coming in and editing articles. Most of the vandalism is quickly edited out of the article by people performing a task called "recent changes patrol," or by people who have a vested interest in the article and spot such dubious changes.

However, these changes are only side effects of what is crucial to Wikipedia as it is: freedom. There are indeed some bad eggs in Wikipedia - with over 860,000 articles, how could there not be? - but there are hundreds of thousands of good articles that not only impart good information, but are sourced and verifiable. As such, Wikipedia's goal of becoming a compendium of human knowledge is compatible with journalism's strict requirements on valid, truthful information, but Wikipedia's open nature causes it to be less than 100 percent accurate at times.

The freedom and openness that Wikipedia, both as an encyclopedia and a community, produces is more important than 100 percent accuracy or verifiability. Critics who state that Wikipedia is not a reliable primary source are indeed correct. However, those critics miss the point of Wikipedia, which is not to be a primary source for research, but to become a compendium of human knowledge. Anyone is allowed to edit the encyclopedia as a means to that end.

Of course, if we don't like the edits, we can always edit them back.

Resolutions for the country

It is my fervent wish that a New Year's resolution of the Bush administration for 2006 should be to shift political priorities off foreign affairs onto the domestic needs of average Americans. Issues such as the national economy, education, Social Security, health care, urban blight, poverty, the homeless, etc. need attending. So far, what the Bush administration has done domestically could fit in a thimble. In my view, the Bush foreign policy has made America a lesser and a less respected land. It is not the United States, but the United Nations that should map the frontiers of possibilities relative to the nation-states of the world.

President Bush mainly serves rich, corporate America, not average citizens. Our present national policymakers are affluent insiders who don't listen to working people and the poor, and thus are incapable of solving their problems.

Average citizens should also make a firm New Year's resolution to more fully understand the issues of our country. Is not citizen ignorance increasing as rapidly as politicians' spending? Voters must not be credulous. It's easier for a corrupt politician to treat uninformed citizens like Pavlovian dogs by simply throwing out some fancy phrase. An informed individual cannot be fooled by a glib politician who prevaricates. Citizenry must make the mental effort to thoroughly understand civic affairs so as not to be misled and deceived.

Act to stop domestic abuse

Re: Murder rate tells a tale of 2 cities, Dec. 20.

St. Petersburg made real progress last year with unprecedented development, a lower tax base and an 8 percent decrease in the crime rate. But we didn't do nearly enough to stop violence against women and children. We had a 114 percent increase in our murder rate with nearly half of those murders related to domestic violence. Last year Community Action Stops Abuse still communicated with nearly 1,000 domestic violence victims each month from police calls, yet half of the families we sheltered never called the police. We turned away hundreds of requests for shelter this year because we had no room.

Sgt. Michael Puetz claims that the increased numbers are not indicative of any trend but, if half are domestic-related, that seems like a clear and unconscionable trend. "There is no interconnection between these homicides," the sergeant asserts. It seems to me that the fact that so many homicides are domestic does create a kind of interconnection that we can address together. By ignoring this violence, we are allowing another generation of children to grow up in violent homes feeling like the community did not notice.

Violence against women and children affects all of us, and we all have a role to play in ending abuse. Action can be as simple as contributing money or clothing to CASA. Or it can involve teaching boys that violence against women is always wrong or volunteering time to work in CASA's thrift store or answering our crisis line.

Congress did its part in December by reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act of 2005. In 2006, we need to raise our collective voices and ask Congress to fully fund the new law. If we all do our part, together we can make 2006 the year we take real action to stop domestic and sexual violence. We can make our community safer and healthier for ourselves, our children and their children. Let's start the new year right by proclaiming this as the year when no more women and children are murdered in our neighborhoods at home where they should expect to be safe.

A beautiful story

I cried all over my bagel and coffee as I read Lane DeGregory's story The Gift (Dec. 22). It was truly a beautiful piece of work that appeared during a time of year when all things are not right in the world. How about a follow-up story in a few months to let us know how little Daniel is doing?

Keep beloved pets safe

U.S. 19 stands still as rescuers save dog, Dec. 25.

All's well that ends well for Martha Black and her 3-year-old Westie, Chanel. Although I do hope that Black has learned a lesson about leaving Chanel outside in her yard.

It was just serendipity that fellow Westie lovers Vickie Willis and her daughter Bridgette Puertas happened to be in the neighborhood. Chanel should have been wearing a collar and/or had a microchip implant, both of which would carry pertinent information such as the name and phone number of the owner, as well as the dog's name.

Even though the day was saved, let us all take heed.

A warning about the wait

Having just braved the holiday airport traffic, unsure of whether to drop my passenger off at the gate or accompany her to the shuttle, I thought of a suggestion for Tampa International Airport.

At major recreational parks, each ride gives visitors the expected length of wait upon entering a particular ride, which affords the rider the option of testing their own level of patience. Think how helpful it would be if, upon entering the airport, everyone were notified how long the security check-in will take.

[Last modified December 30, 2005, 20:40:03]